Congressional Policy Issues
Democrats and the Debt Ceiling
Josh Huder | October 7, 2021
Debt ceiling politics is front and center in Congress as the US is scheduled to default on its accrued debt October 18. (For a good explainer on the debt ceiling I recommend my colleague Laura Blessing’s piece.) So far, Senate Republicans have filibustered Democrats’ attempts to raise the debt ceiling. Instead, Minority
Democrats in disarray? The surprisingly normal politics of infrastructure negotiations
Matt Glassman | September 8, 2021
On August 24th, the House adopted S.Con.Res.14, the congressional budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2022 previously adopted by the Senate on August 11th, setting up consideration of a $3.5T package of spending under the reconciliation process. The budget resolution was adopted 220-212 in the House and 50-49 in the Senate, with every Democrat
The Importance of the Congressional Calendar
Katina Slavkova | July 7, 2021
Halfway through its first session, the 117th Congress finds itself in familiar territory, one that past Congresses know all too well. The crush of ambitious and unfinished legislative business is threatening to overwhelm Capitol Hill’s notoriously tricky and fickle schedule. Call it the tyranny of the congressional calendar. Here we’ll consider
A Familiar Landmine: The Looming Debt Ceiling
Laura Blessing | June 4, 2021
With all the other tumult going on in our politics, one might be forgiven for not focusing on a familiar landmine: the debt ceiling. After all, since its regularized inclusion in the appropriations process a decade ago, Congress has shifted from extending the debt limit to a specific amount
First, Do No Harm
Susan Sullivan Lagon | May 5, 2021
The Supreme Court, and potential reforms to it, are again in the national spotlight. In just one term, President Donald Trump left an indelible imprint on the federal judiciary by appointing 234 judges, 54 at the appellate level and three to the Supreme Court. Stung by Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s hasty confirmation in the waning
Outlook for the NDAA in the 117th Congress
Katina Slavkova | January 10, 2021
The 116th Congress wrapped up its final days in a dramatic fashion by delivering the first and only veto override of the Trump Administration on New Year’s Day. It was probably fitting and not terribly surprising that this strong bipartisan legislative rebuke –
The 116th and the 117th Congresses: It’s bad but probably not as bad as you think
Josh Huder | December 3, 2020
Historic dysfunction may well be the credo of American politics in the 21st century. Congress appears hopelessly gridlocked. Pundits have run out of adjectives to describe the polarization plaguing American politics. And maybe worse, the mixed results of the 2020 Election defy easy analysis. The House Democratic majority lost seats, the Senate Republican majority
Elections Matter
Matt Glassman | November 2, 2020
On Tuesday, the United States will hold its 117th biennial federal election to fill seats in the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as its 59th quadrennial election to fill the office of President of the United States. Representatives elected will serve in the 117th Congress, from January 3, 2021 until January 3, 2023;
Norms, Precedents and Senate Confirmation
Josh Huder | October 2, 2020
The Supreme Court vacancy created by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing has thrust the Senate’s constitutional confirmation function into an already chaotic 2020 election cycle. Senate Majority Leader McConnell appears poised for a pre-election rush to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett—in direct contravention of his previous statements about confirming Supreme Court nominees in election years and
Social Movements and Policy Change
Laura Blessing | September 8, 2020
How should we understand the fire this time? In the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, a movement has re-ignited for civil rights in general and against police brutality specifically. August 28 saw a March on Washington, 57 years after the original march with MLK’s famous “I have a dream” speech to crowds